Prof. dr hab. Aleksander Guterch

Professor

We regret to inform you of the death of the Professor
on December 28, 2023.

Institute of Geophysics Polish Academy of Sciences
Department of Lithospheric Research
Ks. Janusza 64, 01-452 Warszawa
tel.: +48 22 6915 653
email: adgip@igf.edu.pl

 

Education

1991 Professor
1981 Associate professor
1974 Habilitation, AGH UST Cracow
1969 PhD in physical sciences, IGF PAS
1961 MSc, Faculty of Physics, Math and Chemistry, specialisation - geophysics

Employment

1990 -  Professor in the Department of Litospheric Research IGF PAS
1981 - 1990 Associate professor in the Department of Litospheric Research IGF PAS
1972 - 1981 docent in the Department of Litospheric Research IGF PAS
1969 - 2012 Head of the Independent Deep Structures Lab and then Department of Litospheric Research in the Institute of Geophysics PAS
1972 - 1981 Adjunct in the Institute of Geophysics PAS
1963 - 1969 Research Assistant in the Institute of Geophysics PAS
1961 - 1963 Research Assistant in the Department of Lithosphere Physics, University of Warsaw

Foreign research internships

1967 - 1968 Institute of Mathematics of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Leningrad, study of the theory of seismic wave propagation
1971 - 1972 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Texas, Dallas, USA, studies in structure and physics of lithosphere

Scientific interests

  • Study of structure and physical properties of earth's crust and lower lithosphere
  • Geodynamic processes in anomalous zones of the Earth
  • Modelling of seismic wave fields

Polish and international seismic projects

  • ​Arctic and Antarctic
1982 - 1985 Coordinator of the Interdepartmental Nodal Problem of Polish Academy of Sciences - Polar Research.
1985 - 1991 Head of the Central Polar Research Program No. 03.03 PAS - Studies of Living Resources, Litosphere and Environment of Polar Regions.
1976 - 1985

Organizer, manager and participant of three geophysical expeditions to the Arctic in international cooperation with the scientific teams from Norway and Germany. Arctic - Svalbard Archipelago: I - 1976, II - 1978, III - 1985.

1979 - 1991 Organizer, manager and participant of four geodynamic expeditions (geophysics, geology) to Western Antarctica. Antarctica - Western Antarctica: I - 1979/80, II - 1984/85, III - 1987/88, IV - 1990/91.
1999 - 2008

Co-organizer of three international geophysical expeditions to the Svalbard Archipelago with scientific teams from Norway, Germany and Japan and one geophysical expedition to the Western Antarctic.

  • Poland and Europe
1969 - 1985 The organizer and manager of a series of seismic experiments in Poland and neighboring countries (Czechoslovakia, GDR, USSR) International profiles - IV, VII and VIII and many regional profiles.
1987 - 1992 Co-organizer and manager of international seismic experiments LT-7 (Poland, East Germany, 1987).
1997 - 2003

Head and co-organizer of major international seismic experiments in Central and Southern Europe (from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea):

  • POLONAISE’97 (Poland , Germany),
  • CELEBRATION 2000 : Central European Lithospheric Experiment Based on Refraction (Poland, Russia, Belarus, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Germany),
  • SUDETES 2003 (Poland, Czech Republic),
  • GRUNDY 2003 (Poland with the potential of seismic equipment from the USA),
  • ALP 2002 (Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Canada, USA, Croatia, Denmark).

In these experiments, conducted in Central and South Europe, 35 scientific and industrial institutions from 17 countries (Europe, USA and Canada) took part.

2010 Organizer and head of the seismic experiment POLCRUST 01. Deep seismic reflection profiling on a profile located in south-eastern Poland.
1991 - 2013

Participation in the following seismic experiments: :

  • SVEKA’91 (Finland),
  • EUROBRIDGE’95, 96, 97 (Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine),
  • SVEKALAPKO (1998 – 1999, Finland, Russia),
  • DOBRE’99 (Ukraine),
  • PASSEQ ( 2006, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Czech Republic),
  • DOBRE 2 (2007, Ukraine),
  • PANCAKE (2008, Ukraine, Hungary),
  • DOBRE 4 (2009, Ukraine),
  • DOBRE 5 (2011, Ukraine),
  • GEORIFT (2013, Belarus, Ukraine)

Grants and financial subventions for the implementation of the projects

  • Head of several research committee grants, including the targeted project commissioned by the KBN-PCZ-006-21 (2000-2003), established at the request of the Ministry of the Environment
  • Project leader ordered by the Ministry of the Environment, financed by National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, agreement No. 862/2005/Wn-07/FG-bp-tx/D "Comprehensive interpretation of the deep crust structure throughout the CELEBRATION 2000 seismic experiment", Institute of Geophysics Polish Academy of Sciences, 2005-2008.
  • Project manager ordered by the Ministry of the Environment, financed by National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, agreement No. 872/2005/Wn-07/FG-bp-tx/D "Seismic refraction studies of the structure of the crust of the Fore-Sudetic area and Sudetes", Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 2005-2008.
  • Head of interdisciplinary research project ordered PBZ-KBN-108/PO4/2004 "The structure, evolution and dynamics of the lithosphere, cryosphere and biosphere in the European sector of Arctic and Antarctic."
  • Participation in the world-wide international program entitled " PLATE TECTONICS AND POLAR GATEWAYS IN EARTH HISTORY, IPY Cluster 77 (IPY - International Polar Year 2007-2008). Head of the Polish team.
  • Initiator and manager of two projects:
    • Recognition of geology and structure of the earth's crust by methods of deep seismic reflection profiling and refraction and reflection tomographic seismic profiling on a regional profile located in the Lublin region and southern Podlasie. Project No. 705/2009/Wn-07/FG-BP-TX/D financed by the National Fund for Environment and Water Management at the request of the Minister of the Environment.
    • 2D seismic research project on transcarpathic profile: Polish border-Sanok-Józefów reflection using refraction-reflection methods, to identify the structural system of the sedimentary cover and the crystalline complex of the earth's crust. Project implemented by the Scientific-Industrial Consortium with the participation of: PGNiG S.A., GEOFIZYKA Toruń Sp z o.o. and the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences as leader of the Consortium, with extra-budget funding, from the oil industry.

Both seismic profiles, realized within the two projects mentioned above, constitute one of the 240 km long POLCRUST 01 seismic transects, the first such research project in Poland, of unique importance.

Membership in organizations

1968 -  Committee of Geophysics PAN
1989 -  National Committee for Cooperation with the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, Chairman 1983-1989, Member of the Bureau 1989 - present
1980 -  Polar Research Committee at the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences PAN, Vice-Presidents 1991-1999, Chairman 1999-2007, Member of the Bureau 2007 - present
1992 - 2001 Member of the European project EUROPROBE for the European Science Foundation in Strasbourg and Brussels (member of the 9-member Steering Committee and Management Committee)
1993 - 2005 Chairman of the Geological Council of the Minister of the Environment
1994 -  Member of Polish Polar Research Board
1995 - 1998 Member of the Earth Sciences Panel for TRR Networks EC, Brussels
1995 -  Founder and President of the Association for Deep Geological Research
2000 - 2007 National Committee at the PAS Presidium for Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and International Arctic Scientific Committee, Chairman
2001 - 2014 Representative of the Polish Academy of Sciences in the European Polar Board, ESF, Strasbourg, Brussels (European Polar Council) Vice-President 2004-2007
2015 -  Representative of the PAS in the European Polar Board - Expert Committee for the EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Hage, Brussels
2003 - 2012 National Committee for Cooperation with the European Science Foundation (ESF) at the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Vice-President 2007-2012
2006 -  National Committee for Polar Arctic Affairs at the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Arctic Council, Antarctic Treaty), chairman
2006 - 2011 Polish Committee for the 4th International Polar Year 2007 - 2009 at the Polish National Committee Polish Academy of Sciences for 4 International Polar Year, chairmant
2009 - 2010 Interdepartmental Experimental Team of the Polish Academy of Polar Research, chairman
2011 -  POLAR TASK FORCE MSZ RP (integration of economic departments activity, Ministry of Science and Higher Education and Polish Academy of Sciences in the polar regions of the Earth, member
2014 -  Member of the Audit Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Academic councils

1970 Award of the Faculty III of the Polish Academy of Sciences
1974 PAN team award (team leader)
1976 Polish State Award Ist rank , teamwork (team leader)
1980 Badge, Merit for Oil and Gas, awarded by the Union of Oil and Gas Industry
1980, 1983, 1986 Awards PAS, teamwork (team leader)
1997 Award of the Minister for Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry
2003 Prime Minister Award for the overall scientific achievements
2013 Medal of the 60th anniversary of the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences for scientific and organizational activities

State distinctions

 

1973 Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta
1998 Officer's Cross of Polonia Restituta

Major publications

  • Guterch A., Grad M., Keller G.R., and Brückl E., 2015.
    Crustal and Lithospheric Structure between the Alps and East European Craton from Long Range Controlled Source Seismic Experiments.
    in Treatise on Geophysics, Editor-in-Chief Gerald Schubert (Los Angeles), vol 1, Editors Barbara Romanowicz and Adam Dziewoński (Berkeley, Cambridge, USA), Elsevier (1 -35).
  • Malinowski M., Guterch A., Narkiewicz M., Probulski J., Maksym A., Majdański M., Środa P., Czuba W., Gaczyński E., Grad M., Janik T., Jankowski L., Adamczyk A., 2013.
    Deep seismic reflection profile in Central Europe reveals complex pattern of Paleozoic and Alpine accretion at the East European Craton margin.
    Geophysical Research Letters, 40, 1-6, doi: 10.1002/grl.50746.
  • Czuba W., Grad M., Mjelde R., Guterch A., Libak A., Krüger F., Murai Y., Schweitzer J and the IPY Project Group, 2010.
    Continent –ocean transition across a trans-tensional margin segment: of Bear Island, Barents Sea.
    Geophys. J. Int. , doi: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04873.x.
  • Guterch A., Zespół Ekspercki, 2010.
    Polskie Badania Polarne. Potencjał Intelektualny, Instytucjonalny i Osobowy. „Refleksje nad stanem wybranych obszarów nauki w Polsce w Ocenie Zespołów Integracyjnych i Integracyjno-Eksperckich PAN”.
    PAN, Warszawa, 615-696.
  • Grad M., Guterch A., 2010.
    Struktura litosfery i geodynamika Europy Centralnej w świetle eksperymentów sejsmicznych POLONAISE’97, CELEBRATION 2000, ALP 2002 i SUDETES 2003.
    POLSKIE I ŚWIATOWE OSIĄGNIĘCIA NAUKI, NAUKI  O ZIEMI. KAPITAŁ LUDZKI, Unia Europejska, Europejski Fundusz Społeczny, Gliwice, 109-157.
  • Guterch A., Wybraniec S., Grad M., Chadwick R.A., Krawczyk C.M., Ziegler P.A., Thybo H., De Vos W., 2010.
    Crustal structure and structural framework.
    in Doornenbal J.C. and Stevenson A.G. (editors), Petroleum Geological Atlas of the Southern Permian Basin Area, EAGE Publications b.v. (Houten), pp. 11-23.
  • Grad M., Guterch A., Mazur S., Keller G.R., Špičák A., Hrubcová P., Geissler W.H., 2008.
    Lithospheris structure of the Bohemian Massif and adjacent Variscan belt in central Europe based on profile S01 from the Sudetes 2003 experiment.
    J. Geophys. Res., 113, B10304, doi: 10.1029/2007JB005497.
  • Brückl E., Behm M., Decker K., Grad M., Guterch A., Keller G.R., Thybo H., 2007.
    Crustal structure and active tectonics in the Eastern Alps
    Tectonophysics, 29, TC2011, doi: 10.1029/2009TC002491.
  • Grad M., Guterch A., Keller G.R., POLONAISE’97 and CELEBRATION 2000 Working Groups, 2007.
    Variations in litospheric structure across the margin of Baltica in Central Europe and the role of the Variscan and Carpathian orogenies.
    The Geological Society of America Memoir, 200, 341-356.
  • Guterch A., Grad M., Keller G.R., 2007.
    Crust and Litospheric Structure – Long Range Controlled Source Seismic Experiments in Europe.
    in Treatise on Geophysics, Editor-in-Chief G. Schubert (Los Angeles),vol 1, Editors B. Romanowicz and A. Dziewoński (Berkeley, Cambridge, USA), Elsevier, 533-558.
  • Grad M., Guterch A., Keller G.R., Janik T., Hegedüs E., Vozár J., Ślączka A., Tiira T., Yliniemi J., 2006.
    Litospheric structure beneath trans-Carpathian transect from Precambrian Platform to Pannonian basin. CELEBRATION 2000 seismic profile CEL05.
    J. Geophys. Res. 111 (B03301), doi: 10.1029/2005JB003647.
  • Guterch A., Grad M., Špičák A., Brückl E., Hegedüs E., Keller G.R., Thybo H., CELEBRATION 2000, Alp 2002, SUDETES 2003 Working Groups, 2003.
    An overview of recent seismic refraction experiments in Central Europe.
    Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica, 47, 651-657.
  • Grad M., Guterch A., Mazur S., 2002.
    Seismic refraction evidence for crustal structure in the central part of the Trans-European Suture Zone in Poland in Paleozoic Amalgamation of central Europe.
    edited by J.A. Winchester, T.C. Pharaoh and J. Verniers, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 201, 295-309.
  • Guterch A., Grad M., Keller G.R.m CELEBRATION 2000 Organizing Committee, 2001.
    Seismologists Celebrate the New Millenium with an Experiment in Central Europe.
    EOS Trans. AGU, 82, (45), 529, 534-535.
  • Guterch A., Grad M., Keller G.R., Posgay K., Vozár J., Špičák A., Brückl E., Hajnal Z., Thybo H., Selvi O., (Project leaders), 2000.
    CELEBRATION 2000: the largest seismic refraction experiment ever carried, involving geoscientists from twelve European countries, Canada and USA.
    in D.G. Gee and J.M. Artemieva (editors), EUROPROBE 1992-2000, European Science Foundation Report, Strasbourg, pp. 6-7.
  • Grad M., Janik T., Yliniemi Y., Guterch A., Luosto U., Tiira T., Komminaho K., Środa P., Höing K., Makris J., Lund C.-E., 1999.
    Crustal structure of the Mid-Polish Trough beneath the TTZ seismic profile.
    Tectonophysics, 314, (1-3), 145-160.
  • Guterch A., Grad. M., Thybo H., Keller G.R., POLONAISE ‘97 Working Group, 1999.
    POLONAISE ’97 ndash; international seismic experiment between Precambrian and Variscan Europe in Poland.
    Tectonophysics, 314, 101-121.
  • Grad M., Shiobara H., Janik T., Guterch A., Shimamura H., 1997.
    Crustal model of the Bransfield Rift, West Antarctica, from detailed OBS refraction experiments.
    Geophysical Journal International, 130, 506-518.
  • Guterch A., Grad M., Janik T., Materzok R., Luosto U., Yliniemi J., Lück E., Schulze A., Förste K., 1994.
    Crustal structure of the transition zone between Precambrian and Variscan Europe from new seismic data along LT-7 profile (NW Poland and eastern Germany).
    C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, serie II, 319, 1489-1496.
  • Grad M., Guterch A., Janik T., 1993.
    Seismic structure of the lithosphere across the zone subducted Drake plate under the Antarctic plate, West Antarctica.
    Geophysical Journal International, 115, 586-600.
  • Grad M., Guterch A., Lund C.-E., 1991.
    Seismic models of the lower lithosphere beneath the southern Baltic Sea between Sweden and Poland.
    Tectonophysics, 189, (1-4), 219-227.
  • Sellevoll M.A., Duda S.J., Guterch A., Pajchel J., Perchuć E., Thyssen F., 1991.
    Crustal structure in the Svalbard region from seismic measurements.
    Tectonophysics, 189, Number 1-4, 55-71 (SEIS).
  • Guterch A., Grad M., Materzok R., Perchuć E., 1986.
    Deep structure of the Eart’s crust in the contact zone of the Palaeozoic and Precambrian platforms in Poland (Tornquist – Teisseyre zone)
    In; D.A. Galson, St. Mueller (ed), The European Geotraverse, Part 2, Tectonophysics, 128, 251-279.
  • Luosto U., Lanne E., Korhonen H., Guterch A., Grad M., Materzok R., Perchuć E., 1984.
    Deep structure of the Earth’s crust on the SVEKA profile in central Finland.
    Annales Geophysicae, 2, (5), 559-570.
  • Guterch A., Pajchel J., Perchuć E., Sellevoll M.A., 1982.
    Seismic crustal studies on Spitsbergen 1978. The Central Profile.
    in: Geophysical Research on Spitsbergen, University of Bergen, Seismological Observatory, 33-62.
  • Guterch A., 1970.
    Kinematics and Dynamics of Seismic Waves in Selected Heterogeneusly Stratified Models of the Continental Earth’s Crust.
    Publications of the Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, PWN, Warsaw (1-76 and 76 Figures).

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